Congress, AAP Finalise Seat-Sharing: Delhi Gets 4:3 Seat Split, Separate Contests in Punjab

The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress on Saturday announced the seat-sharing agreement for several states, including Delhi and Punjab.

According to the arrangement, they have settled on a 4:3 seat-sharing formula for Delhi, while opting for separate contests in Punjab. Additionally, agreements have been reached for Gujarat, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Goa.

The AAP will contest the New Delhi, the West Delhi, the South Delhi and the East Delhi seats, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said at a press conference. The grand old party will contest in Chandni Chowk, the Northeast Delhi and the Northwest Delhi seats.

There are seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi and all were won by the BJP in the 2019 polls.

"In Gujarat, the AAP will contest from Bharuch and Bhavnagar, while the Congress will field its candidates from the remaining 24 seats in the state. In Haryana, the AAP will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Kurukshetra. The Congress will contest both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa," PTI quoted him as saying. The Congress will also contest the lone seat in Chandigarh, he said.

According to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sandeep Pathak, both AAP and the Congress have agreed to independently contest the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. However, Pathak emphasized that despite this separate contest, both parties remain committed to securing victory on all seven seats in Delhi, even though they will be using different election symbols.

Both the Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties formed to challenge the BJP in the upcoming general elections.

Furthermore, AAP has already unveiled its candidates for the Bharuch and Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.

"Today the country needs a strong alternative. This alliance has been formed in the interest of the country. This election will be fought by the INDIA bloc. The BJP's calculations will go wrong because of the alliance," Pathak added.

On seat-sharing with Congress for Lok Sabha elections, AAP Gujarat President Isudan Gadhvi says, "This alliance is done to save the nation, which is above any party. We all saw what happened in Chandigarh mayor polls because of Supreme Court democracy was protected. Arvind Kejriwal said earlier as well that we will continue to be in the INDIA alliance... We will work our best on the seats of Congress and we are optimistic that the INDIA bloc will provide strong results. Seeing all this, the BJP has gone scared..."

• In Delhi (7 seats), Congress will contest 3 seats, while AAP will contest 4.
• In Gujarat (26 seats), Congress will contest 24 seats, with AAP fielding candidates in Bharuch and Bhavnagar constituencies.
• In Haryana (10 seats), Congress will contest 9 seats, leaving 1 seat (Kurukshetra) for AAP.
• In Chandigarh, Congress will contest the sole seat.
• In Goa, Congress will contest both seats.
• In Punjab, both parties to contest, separately.